Serenity Review
Disclaimer and Warning: I am not a Firefly fan. I did watch a couple of episodes, at least partially, to see what my friends were talking about. Watching those episodes did not make me want to watch more of those episodes. I do not like sci-fi. There are specific things about the genre, in general, that I do not like1. Also, my take on the
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I love Mal, but I see his flaws. River is young, pure of body [probably, since there is no indication that she was ever raped] understands him even when he doesn't understand himself and was a victim. Mal has a real soft spot for those sinned against.
I also don't see Kaylee and Simon lasting. It'd take him about six months to get past the first rush of lust and then he'd start correcting her grammar and trying to make her act proper. Kaylee is a sweet round heel who will never be happy acting proper. So eventually they would blow up and part company.
Weird as it seems Kaylee would be better off with Jayne.
And yes this slasher sees a lot of het in the movie. But I promise you there was a lot of slash in the TV series.
I want to go see it again, right now.
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First things first -- y'all did actually go see it yesterday, right? I wasn't sure of the extent to which your plans had changed. The really sad thing is, I was not busy yesterday and M was gone most of the day, so I probably could have taken off early in the afternoon and gone with you. But instead I have more money, so I guess that is okay.
I kinda wish it had gone straight to DVD after the screeners, so I could give it to folks that want to see it over and over as a present.
I've been thinking about the Mal/River thing, too. The movie didn't show much about Mal's problems with Inara being a companion, but I remember it being a problem from discussions on LJ back when the show was on. I agree it's probably a hangup he can't get around, and I don't think Inara would put up with Mal for long, either.
Going just by the movie, this is the way it looks to me:
To Mal, Inara represents sexual immaturity. She is lust without passion. Almost a form of masturbation. She does nothing for his emotional growth, and doesn't challenge him. Inara makes me think of that Bible verse about putting away childish things. River, on the other hand, shakes up his whole world. Her very name implies forward movement. Since Mal is the Hero of the story, the story has to be about his growth, and forward movement. So storywise, there really is not any other route to take. To me the whole story is about them challenging each other and causing each other to become adults (though it will be a very rocky path).
Frankly, I don't care what Simon would do, as long as it involves going far, far away! *g* I do like your Kaylee/Jayne suggestion, though. They make a very appealing sidekick couple. I don't think that's weird, at all. I suspect they have similar backgrounds and values, and that they would challenge each other in a nice counterpoint to Mal and River challenging each other.
I totally understand there was slash in the series. But definitely not a bit in the movie. I think any that anyone sees is what they're bringing in from the TV show, and that it was pretty much negated by the movie. I'm not sure that should have much effect on anything. IMO the movie is separate enough from the TV show, and it seems evident enough that he's changed directions (or perhaps I should say, reached his true path) very quickly. I think that's something that the show's cancellation forced on him.
BTW, I read an article yesterday that discussed Joss as a TV writer/creator vs. Movie writer/creator in Slate. Warning - it is not wholely complimentary squeeing! But it's very good and I agree with a lot of it.
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